However, the debate that should and apparently does interest global policymakers from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke to Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of China's central bank, is this: is the timeliness, need for and technological feasibility of a more efficient, more transparent, global currency close upon us?

The singular advantage of such a world is the inability of governments to surreptitiously tax their citizens via the printing press, buy real goods and services, and watch prices rise -- forcing those holding money, government bonds or other nominal securities to suffer a loss in real wealth and, thus, hold the bag.

Anyone familiar with current U.S. monetary policy might well wonder whether our country wouldn't be better served with bitcoins replacing the dollar.

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Having a global currency, whose supply is limited, fully transparent and independent of any government's control, could usher in real financial reform. Limited Purpose Banking, which transforms banks and other financial corporations into equity-financed mutual funds, whose holdings are disclosed on a real-time basis, is precisely what is needed.

The long sweep of financial history tells us that many extremely valuable innovations were initially viewed with suspicion. But without them, we'd still be bartering. Bitcoins may well be one of the truly major financial innovations that brings the world together and forces long-needed fiscal and financial reform. Let's give it a chance.